In the realm of printing, consumption of ink is an important consideration. This becomes even more prominent in case of half-toning operations. As is generally known, half-toning is a reprographic technique of printing that simulates shades of gray by use of tiny black dots arranged in a particular pattern, varying either in size or spacing. Owing to high cost of ink, it is relevant to ensure an optimum utilization of ink in printing operations. Therefore, numerous efforts have been made in order to minimize the consumption of ink while ensuring quality output.
However, existing techniques are mostly focused on reducing dot gain. As is generally known, dot gain is indicative of an increase in the size of a printed dot relative to its intended size. Although such technique provides a certain amount of ink saving, it is primarily intended for dot gain reduction and does not provide flexibility in terms of controlling a rate of consumption of ink for saving purposes.
Further, there are many techniques, such as screening, dithering, and error diffusion that are used for half-toning. There are numerous ink saving techniques developed for the screening technique and the dithering technique. However, in comparison, there are a few ink saving techniques available for the error diffusion technique in spite of the fact that the error diffusion technique offers higher spatial resolution and better quality as compared to the dithering technique. It also eliminates the occurrence of the Moire effect that is produced by superimposing two or more halftone patterns of different color channels. However, there are not many techniques for ink savings using the error diffusion technique, and even those which are available do not provide any control on the rate of consumption of ink. Therefore, there is a need for such methods and systems to overcome the mentioned challenge.